While Variety says the project is a low priority for the studio, Disney is planning on giving its theme park attractions the Justice League/Avengers treatment with Magic Kingdom, which would be the setting of a family adventure.

VIA CS:

Ronald Moore (Battlestar Galactica) already wrote a script based on his own pitch for the project that Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce through their Universal-based Strike Entertainment. The initial plot took place inside Disneyland, says the trade.

The studio is looking to develop the project further with a new writer, who has not been hired yet.

The movie would feature well-known Disney-owned icons such as Mickey Mouse and friends, princesses, attractions from the parks, and more.

Separately from Magic Kingdom, Disney is filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the franchise, The Haunted Mansion with Guillermo del Toro, Tomorrowland and Jungle Cruise.

On the princess side, the studio is working on live-action pics Snow and the Seven, Maleficent, and Cinderella.

Clark Kent says: In other news, Universal just bought ‘Snow White and the Huntsmen’ spec script. Full story over at /Film.

Guillermo del Toro has finally confirmed the rumor that THQ is the publisher for the gaming title he’s creating.

VIA VG247:

Speaking with MTV, the director told the site development time for the first title will take around three years, with it hitting sometime in 2013 as the “best case scenario”.“We’re working together,” said del Toro. “Hopefully everything will come together in the next few days and we can formally announce it and so forth. But we are talking about huge games, huge world creation and long deadlines.”

“With THQ we’re looking at around a three year developing deadline for each game. Big games. More details forthcoming, but we are truly exploring them in a serious manner. Expect the first game, best case scenario, 2013.”

According to del Toro, he’s been trying to pitch a game series since 2006, including one called Sundown. “Sundown was eerily similar to Left 4 Dead, which I adore and am addicted to, and in our household is considered a family game,” he said. “I pitched another game that was not developed. That’s the same one I pitched [to THQ]. They took to it immediately. More details forthcoming. I don’t want to say everything because we’re going to announce it soon. But again, long deadline.

“It’s horror…but it’s a very different type of horror game. It’s not survival horror. It’s truly a strange, geeky mix. It’s a Lovecraftian thing. Let’s leave it at that.”

Clark Kent says: Guillermo adds that ‘Sundown’ is not one of the game’s picked up by THQ. More as this develops. Excited, yet? Stay tuned for more!

While fans speculate as to who Guillermo del Toro will cast in At the Mountains of Madness, the writer-director can assure you of one thing.

VIA CS:

“All I can tell you is if Ron Perlman is free, he will be in,” he tells MTV. “I wrote a part for him. He read it and if everything falls in place, Ron Perlman has a role in it written specifically for him.”

The actor continues to enjoy his run on Sons of Anarchy. If Perlman makes time for del Toro, he’ll play “Larson, the sort of dog guy, the guy that cares for the dogs and the sled — the part of the expedition that is dog sleds,” del Toro added. “It’s a fantastic character. I really love him. He’s sort of a pragmatic guy, doesn’t care about science or the mythology or the cosmology. He just is a hard-boiled Nordic man, and it is written specifically for him.”

Clark Kent asks: Will del Toro and Perlman team up for another ‘Hellboy’ movie? Share your thoughts in the comments section:

Katie Holmes may have been out of the game for a while, but she has a bunch of films now approaching release and has just added another role, opposite Adam Sandler, Al Pacino and Adam Sandler in Jack and Jill, to her to do list.

Clark Kent says: No shots… but as long as she isn’t trying to sneak her way back into the ‘Batman’ franchise I’m all for it! What about you? More news after the jump.

VIA E:

Is that a typo above? Why no: the film will see Adam Sandler play both Jack, a family man, and his twin sister Jill, who comes to visit for Thanksgiving and then won’t leave. Katie Holmes will play Jack’s wife, while Al Pacino will play himself. Hoo-ah!

Holmes also has upcoming roles in The Extra Man, The Romantics, The Son of No One and the Guillermo del Toro’ produced Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. Meanwhile Dennis Dugan will direct Jack and Jill.

Back in June, Guillermo Del Toro warned that Hellboy 3 might be some way off. At that time he blamed a tough development process (“the Hellboy screenplays are not quick to write. For whatever reason they end up being very complicated.”) but MTV has discovered another potential spanner in the Hellboy 3 works. Namely, Ron Perlman.

Clark Kent says: Find out why after the jump.

VIA E:

“Everyone should ask Ron Perlman,” said Del Toro (with, it must be said, a gleam in his eye and mischief in his heart). Seemingly, at dinner the previous evening, the genre-fave actor had expressed some reservations about hours in the make-up chair. “He’s doing Sons of Anarchy without make-up. He’s spoiled! He likes to be the big cheese without the make-up session.”

Joking aside, Del Toro did seem concerned that the story, which the previous films hinted was heading for seriously dark end-times, might not ever be finished. “The heartbreak for me is that I know how it ends and I don’t know if I want to see that ending. But I would love to do it.”

MTV points out that series creator Mike Mignola is probably okay with that though. In an interview a couple of years ago, the writer lamented that “if Guillermo makes Hellboy 3 and it’s the death of Hellboy, I’m left doing the comic going, ‘but I’m not done yet!’ If Del Toro does my ending, there won’t be a lot of surprise when I get there.”

Clark Kent asks: Do you think that ‘Hellboy 3′ will come out this century? Or give or take a few decades? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

James Cameron is doing the press rounds this week to begin promoting the theatrical re-release of Avatar, which on August 27th will come complete with nine minutes of new footage.

VIA SF:

In conversations with a couple of news outlets, James Cameron talks about what’s in that footage, and gives some spare details about his plans for Avatar sequels and the novelization of the first film, which Cameron is writing.

On Avatar 2 and 3:

There are ideas and notes for the script, but that’s all so far. I have an overall narrative arc for 2 and 3, and there are some modifications to that based on my experiences in the last few months from having gone down to the Amazon and actually hung out with various indigenous groups who are actually living this type of story for real…but it’s not changing the overall pattern. I haven’t gotten the script done yet; that’s going to be a ways out.

On producing At the Mountains of Madness for Guillermo del Toro:

Cameron and del Toro have been friends for a while, and Cameron asked if he was still thinking of doing ‘Mountains.’ When del Toro displayed enthusiasm for the project, Cameron asked, “Why don’t we make it? That conversation led to…let’s go talk to Universal. So we went over there, pitched it with me producing on a fast track, so hopefully we’ll be going second quarter next year. And in 3D!”

Clark Kent asks: Is 3-D too much for people to enjoy for the ticket prices they’re asking for to see these movies? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Clark Kent says: This movie freaked me out. I’m a fan of sci-fi movies and a veteran of the ‘Species’ franchise but does ‘Splice’ fit the bill of a cinematic classic? Find out after the jump.

GOOD: ‘Splice’ is not just a term used in genetic engineering, but also is a key tactic used by director/co-writer Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Cypher). The director — with Guillermo del Toro’s blessing — takes audiences on a disturbing ride through some of sci-fi and horror’s most beloved flicks. From Elsa (Sarah Polley) uttering the classic, “It’s alive!” line from 1931′s ‘Frankenstein’ to the creature — named Dren (Delphine Chanéac) — becoming a deadly temptress a la 1995′s ‘Species’ — the highly inventive movie is like anything from the mind of David Cronenberg. Adrien Brody (Clive) and Polley both deliver stellar, complex, and edgy performances that are excellent and thrilling to watch. There are full scenes that are tense and simultaneously child-like and frightening.

BAD: With all the craziness surrounding ‘Splice,’ going towards the final act deteriorates into cliche, focusing on pleasing horror fans with a climatic chase-and-twist that has been done a million times before. Natali and his team of scribes litter the film with jargon that tries to create a sense of hard science — but comes off a tricky and rarely believable in the greater sense of sci-fi/horror. With an anemic line for every flash of changing behavior — the visuals do more justice than the words — leaving ‘Splice’ deflated in parts where tension can really be heightened.

UGLY: Vincenzo Natali’s ‘Splice’ through it all maintains an impressively controlled tone. Plenty of easter eggs litter the flick — from Cronenberg’s ‘The Fly’ to even Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley character names (Clive and Elsa are named after the actors in ‘Bride of Frankenstein) to the psychosexual tension created in ‘Species’. Extra points for dropping a reference to Jim Henson’s ‘The Dark Crystal,’ too. ‘Splice’ and its script sometimes suffers from offering too many words in the place of truly horrific scene-setting. While the themes involved are intriguing (nature vs. nurture, morality vs. science) — the film as a whole is genuinely inventive and a creative thriller worthy of the Guillermo del Toro co-sign.

Clark Kent says: In other words… See It! While this film may not be everyone’s cup o’ tea — it is worth the price of admission. Got an opinion? Share it below and check out the trailer:

The Hobbit rumor-mill has cranked into overdrive this month. We’ve already heard that Aragorn might be back and that director Guillermo Del Toro will have a cameo in the LOTR prequel.

Clark Kent says: When you hear who might be joining the cast, it’ll give you hope that the next X-Men movie may be a hit!

VIA IGN:

Now Aint It Cool is reporting that Scottish actor Brian Cox is a “major contender” to play one of the thirteen dwarves who join Bilbo on his quest. The actor is perhaps most famous for playing William Stryker in X2 and Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter.

AICN’s scooper doesn’t specify which pint-sized middle-earther Cox is being lined up for, but the most obvious role would be bumbling dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield. Studio New Line hasn’t confirmed the story.

Clark Kent says: We’ll keep you posted as more develops.

Empire had the good fortune recently to catch up with one of the Sir Ian McKellen, at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Naturally, Empire decided to pump him vigorously for the latest on his involvement with those twin towers of movie geekdom: The Hobbit and the X-Men franchise.

VIA E:

First up: The Hobbit. It’s been known for some while now that Sir Ian would be reprising his role as Gandalf (the Grey variety this time) for Guillermo del Toro’s Lord of the Rings prequel. But he had a few additional tidbits to spill this time around.

“The scripts for the two films will be delivered very soon,” he revealed. “Then they’ll be budgeted, and then they’ll be cast. And they’ll be going when they’ve always said they would be, which is next spring – March or April. Guillermo even told me at one point, ‘We’re going to film for 383 days.’ He’s got that artistic autism! Jackson’s the same; they’re very, very, very alike. They also very different, but they’ve so much in common. They both can’t stand Hollywood and have wonderful imaginations, and they’re both obsessed with gore and fantasy. Both of them laugh a great deal. Guillermo’s one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met. His English vocabulary is way superior to mine!”

There’s been fervent speculation about the possible return of other Rings cast members, with the likes of Legolas and Aragorn in the frame for cameos, but Sir Ian isn’t convinced.

“Unforunately, there won’t be many of the actors going back,” he said, “unless they’re going to put masks on and be disguised as dwarves! Andy Serkis is, at the moment, I think, the only other actor who’s doing this film.”

Of course, we fully expect Hugo Weaving to pop up as Elrond, but that announcement will doubtless come in due course.

In the meantime, we couldn’t let Sir Ian – who was at San Sebastian to pick up a lifetime achievement award – go without mentioning X-Men Origins: Magneto, which is still in a state of flux. Rumor has it that the script would call for a McKellen appearance to bookend the prequel action, but the actor says he’s heard nowt.

“There’s meant to be a Magneto script floating around, but I’ve not read it, so I suspect it wouldn’t involve me,” he said. “I think it would be about the younger Magneto, and the most I could hope for would be to top and tail that. They can’t have someone whose face is as lined as mine any longer!”

Empire reminded him about the sudden appearance of a mysteriously de-aged Patrick Stewart in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, prompting a hearty guffaw.

“Ooh, he was very pleased with himself that he was going in to be in Wolverine,” cackled Sir Ian. “It was only an hour’s work! We were working on ‘Waiting For Godot’ at the time!”

Clark Kent says: An origin story for Magneto would be cool. But if Bryan Singer is coming back into the fold - will he be able to tie the past into Xavier and company’s future?

Immense as it is, it seems that The Hobbit isn’t all that Guillermo del Toro has on the boil. Beyond being just six months or so into a many-year journey to bring the Baggins family back to the silver screen, he’s now teasing that there’s another big project – or big for him at least, he says – about to come to light. What could it be? Thankfully, there are clues lying about and you can peruse them after the break.

VIA SF:

Here’s the exact statement that the man himself posted in the forums of The One Ring:

“In a few days there will be a BIG announcement (big for me, at least) that is not-Hobbit related. BEFORE anyone starts wondering the usual “how does he have time?, Is this detracting form The Hobbit?” etc It is a project that started over 2 years ago, before The Hobbit and will render fruits in the mid-term, not intruding on my Hobbit duties. Rest assured. The key letter is ‘D‘”

Just last week we found out that Nikolaj Arcel has been tagged to direct Deadman, the DC comics adaptation that del Toro is producing. That’s three Ds, at least (throw in another if you count producer Don Murphy, maybe even another if you expect Doug Jones to take the lead role, as many do) and this film also fits the “over 2 years ago” clue nicely, with Peter first reporting on the film in 2006. But… is this really a big announcement? And would del Toro really try such an elliptical tease when he’s talking about a film that was in the trades just days ago?